Tagged: University of California

In pursuit of doing a world’s first, scientists at the University of California have developed a microchip which features 1,000 processors. The chip called KiloCore has been designed in a way that each of its cores can run programs independently. The amazingly powerful chip is claimed to be the fastest ever created by a University, and it can compute up to 1.78 trillion instructions per second and contains 621 million transistors. The chip is fabricated by IBM using the company’s own 32nm CMOS technology. Read More…

Cockroaches are the creepiest insects that nobody dares to love, isn’t it? But scientists at University of California Berkley have taken interest in this ugly insect to have an insight on its Houdini-like tricks and build a robotic cockroach. Inspired by their ability to squeeze their body to get through the tiniest of crevice, American cockroaches have capabilities that can be emulated in a robotic form for search and rescue operations in case of natural calamities like earthquakes or tornados. Cockroaches have the unique capability to position their legs to the sides and their shell acts like a sponge to take 900 times impact of their body weight.Read More…

Sweat can tell lot about a person’s health and quite often we ignore the signs like constant odor or color in sweat. According to experts sweat contains chemicals, electrolytes, proteins and heavy metals which when studied can reveal a person’s internal health as well as hydration levels. Researchers at University of California, Berkley have developed a sensor-enabled wearable which analyses person’s sweat and based on it gives health stats and also physiology insights. That means tracking of body functions in depth, and the use of this wearable will span beyond fitness tracking. It will be used in medical field to know about patient’s body functions in detail.Read More…

A team of scientists have created a smart keyboard that will completely change the traditional way in which a keyboard is used for information input. The self-powered and self-cleaning intelligent keyboard powers itself by generating electricity when a user’s fingertips make contact with its multi-layer plastic materials. Besides that, the smart keyboard analyzes and record parameters such as force applied by key presses and the time interval between them, thus offering a stronger layer of security for the computer users. Passwords are the only way to protect our personal information on a computer, however they are themselves vulnerable to theft. That’s why the smart keyboard has been developed to offer more secure and user-friendly solution to safeguard the data on our computers.Read More…

Nanotechnology and artificial body parts have been a subject of research for intuitive minds for decades and with the kind of technology that the world has evolved it is no surprise that we are seeing new developments every now and then. Researchers at Berkeley Lab and University of California (UC) Berkeley have come up with artificial whiskers made from silver nanoparticles and composite films of carbon quite similar to the whiskers of cats or rats. These e-whiskers are very sensitive to even a pressure of 1 Pascal which is equivalent to pressure exerted by a dollar bill on table. These electronic whiskers have high-aspect ratio fibers coated with conductive composite films of nanotubes and nanoparticles making them 10 times more sensitive to pressure than other pressure sensors developed in the past.Read More…

With regulations on lawnmowers and other small engine devices like leaf blowers, dirt bikes and snowmobiles for emission reduction tightening the screws on its users, students from the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have come up with a device that does exactly that. The team comprising of 6 students; Joshua Callihan, Rosalva Chavez, Jonya Blahut, Risa Guysi and Holly Clarke calls themselves as NOx-Out and their innovative device reduces emissions from lawnmowers as well as the noise coming from them and the smell of gasoline. It was a part of the WERC: A Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development competition in Las Cruces and the team won first place in one category and the peer category.Read More…

Tattoos are no longer going to be just an icon of your style and personality traits but also of much more complex biological human body monitoring devices. Just like the Biosensor tattoos that monitor your sweat levels, the E-tattoo is here to make an even bigger leap into the realm of brainwave monitoring. Designed by Todd Coleman at the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues, this technologically advanced tattoo can be applied to the skin like any other tattoo. The only difference being that it will monitor your electrophysiological signals from the heart and muscles which is a direct indication of the brain activity.Read More…

Robots are being made to mimic humans and animals; we’ve seen emotional robot and robots that perch like birds. We’ve also seen robot dogs and lizard robots – RightingBot, a simple robot with a small body and a long tail is just another lizard inspired robot of the future. RightingBot by Ardian Jusufi, Robert Full and their colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, like the lizard swings it long tail in mid air to rotate its body the other way to land on the ground on its feet. Read More…

Put some intelligent motion sensors, synchronized with a single computer, to work inside a dorm room, and this is the outcome which the whole world loves, appreciates. Derek Low, an electrical engineer at University of California, turns his dorm room into a smart living place in which everything from light switches to curtains are automated. Curtains automatically open and lights turn on as Low enters the room. Various settings include sleep mode, homework mode, romantic mode, etc, in which sharpness of light varies as per user’s needs. In party mode, for example, curtains automatically close with a sharp ear-piercing sound, disco ball starts spinning with emitting some flickering lights, and music player streams some fast music tracks and turns the small apartment into a personal club.